It’s Sunday! So I walked into the heart of Rome to visit the Pantheon and stayed for worship (which was mostly in Italian but some English). Note the man lighting the TALL candles before worship. There was a great choir and the acoustics were incredible. They emptied all nonworshippers out of the Pantheon before worship so the 150 or so folk left used only a small portion of the space. The Gospel of the mustard seed reminded me that even the little things I do make a difference in God’s world - it was good to be reminded since I’ve been feeling very little lately in the face of the centuries of faith history around me in Italy! After worship I walked in to the Trevi Fountainand had a gelato there ;-). On the way back to the apartment I discovered this mall which must have been something else a long time ago! It’s beautiful!

I rested in the heat of the afternoon and then headed south in the evening (it would have taken an hour to walk so I grabbed my first bus ride!). The trip was amazing as I passed by buildings 15 centuries old and even older! Then I walked up a hill with beautiful gardens. I was headed for Aventine Hill and Vespers at Santa Anselmo, a Benediction church where the still worship with Benedictine chant. In a city of ancient churches this one is relatively new (1900) but still beautiful. It was a very special evening.